Nut and bolt assortments. Worth it?

[Falcon67]

Building and maintaining my families race cars.

That. And golf carts, go carts, mini-bikes, machines and misc Doofenshmirtz mechanical ideas I come up with.

 

[Tscott]

Great information guys. I have decided to start building a collection on my own. Gonna see if I can find a good quality bin today and then I'll start collecting in the sizes I use. I'll buy extra when I need something for a project and I should get there in no time. I also stopped by Tractor Supply and looked at their selection. They had grade 8, but only in standard thread which isn't what I need right now, but nest time I do I will go there and buy by the pound, although I will have to pain the heads of the bolts to hide that ugly green plating.

Tom

 

[volaredon]

I bought (2) Lawson cabinets I think they are either 32 or 40 compartment units, at an auction. There was enough Grade 8 fine thread hardware to have filled one completely and maybe 2 rows of cabinet #2... there were about 1-1/2 rows worth of bins that were empty among them spaced here and there... mostly from 5/16" to 1/2" in various lengths... I was never a fine thread fan just picking up a few here n there when I needed fine thread but for what I paid I could not go wrong; I dont think I coulda gotten the empty bins from Lawson or anyone else (there are other similar companies; Rockford, Fastenal etc) for what I paid for the whole works..
I have been to farm sales with the intent of bringing home a new bin full of bolts but I have seen a few of them sell for more at these for more than buying from Lawson new in the first place.... these bins especially full and relatively organized, are like gold.

 

[Scottishross]

What do u think of this deal

http://alltradesdirect.co.uk/automotive-fixings/4562721200

 

[lions drags]

i reckon so

 

[Tscott]

If anyone is curious, I stopped by the old Harbor Freight today and picked up their rolling parts bin. They had one on display in the store and honestly, for what it is it is a pretty good little deal. 74 Bins in total and it's 2 sided so I can do metric on one side and standard on the other. I'm sure the casters are junk, but it's not gonna move once I get it loaded up so I'm not concerned. Something like $80 with the ubiquitous 20% coupon which is well below what I found similar items cost from Amazon or Ebay. Over all I expect to be satisfied, but I'll post if anything changes.

Tom

 

[69lm69gp]

That. And golf carts, go carts, mini-bikes, machines and misc Doofenshmirtz mechanical ideas I come up with.

But are they Eeevil mechanical ideas?

 

[NUTTSGT]

While buying pounds of fasteners might cost me something up front, it saves the time making a trip to town for a couple of 1/4 bolts and nuts. A trip to town is going to take 20+ minutes and a gallon of gas. ($3.50-$4). If you're working on something on a Sunday evening or burning the midnight oil, there's no place open. Sometimes having a small stockpile is worth the frustration of not being able to get something when you need it.

Case in point, if I would have had my lag screws stocked up more I wouln't have had to go to town. A trip to town, $3.50 for the gas and $6 for lags. I grabbed a few pounds to make it worth the trip.

 

[Kevin54]

One word...Fastenal.
Started doing business there and have loved it ever since...I get pretty much everything there. Nuts & Bolts are no exception...when I buy, I buy a bag quantity and have leftover.
Alot of times I see the bolt assortments on sale and you get a "Free" Durham steel bolt bin...only reason I dont have one yet is I never had space before this year. My bolt assortments are in Kitty Litter pails...4 seperate pails for less then 1/2", bigger then 1/2", larger then 1" and Metric.
I only use TSC when its last minute/weekend project.

You've never been in ours. I bought (6) 1/4" dowel pins at 2 1/2" long and it was close to $8 I avoid Fastenal at all cost if I can. I usually go to TSC for hardware.

 

[EOC_Jason]

If anyone is curious, I stopped by the old Harbor Freight today and picked up their rolling parts bin. They had one on display in the store and honestly, for what it is it is a pretty good little deal. 74 Bins in total and it's 2 sided so I can do metric on one side and standard on the other. I'm sure the casters are junk, but it's not gonna move once I get it loaded up so I'm not concerned. Something like $80 with the ubiquitous 20% coupon which is well below what I found similar items cost from Amazon or Ebay. Over all I expect to be satisfied, but I'll post if anything changes.

That doesn't look half bad. I might have to see if our local HF has that in stock. Thanks for posting it!

 

[madison069]

I work with a big company so I get bolts and nuts cheap from Fastenal.

Need to go talk to them sometime next week and see what they can hook me up with.

 

[Tscott]

That doesn't look half bad. I might have to see if our local HF has that in stock. Thanks for posting it!

Everything is together now and to tell you the truth, I am more than happy with the unit. the bins themselves are super nice quality and sturdy enough to hold a ton of hardware. The cart is pretty stout and should be able to easily support hundreds of pounds of stuff. If you don't load the top more than the bottom, it should roll over concrete just fine but the caster will be the weak link although I don't see me rolling it too many places once I find a good spot for it.

Tom

 

[porschedude996TT]

I had a chance years ago to buy the bolt stock from a Bus Repair Facility. The information sounded a little funny in that the description was "lots of Grade 6 Bolts". Knowing that grade 6 and 7 were pretty obsolete, I didn't pursue any further. I figured the information was from some management type who didn’t know what he had and could only see money-money-money. I think I asked “…did he mean Grade 8?...” and got a reply of “…nope, mostly Grade 6…” I think I should have pursued it. I think he wanted $600 for the bolts and the cabinets.

Today, I'm kicking myself in the A$$ just thinking about what could have been.

 

[DEEDDUDE]

I have an assortment of every of grade five from 1/4x1/2 to 3/4x8. - Probably 200 lbs of bolts. Most was by the pound from the tractor supply places. However, they always seem to be out of the size I really need. Also, they are plated a stupid color now (green) and probably come from China. Sometimes I get a box from McMaster. McMaster is as cheap as Fastenal. Recently, I got an assortment of bolts from this place:
http://www.allensfasteners.com/shippingPolicy.asp
It is a little more expensive than tractor supply, but not by much. The bolts are good and they have all the sizes. They ship flat rate, so the shipping is as cheap as possible. I need to restock several sizes, and will probably order from them again.

I've been using Allen's for years. Great customer service. We didn't have a TSC in town when I needed bolts. I would go to the local Ace Hardware and purchase what I needed, this became expensive. After finding Allen's I started buying more than I needed and building a nice stock of nut, bolts and washer. They use USPS for shipping and if it fits it ships, usually less than $10. If I purchase on Monday I'll have them before the weekend in most cases. Now my problems is finding a way to store them.

 

[allinon72]

No matter how many extra nuts and bolts I buy, I always end up 2-3 bolts short

 

[Falcon67]

But are they Eeevil mechanical ideas?

But of course. Mostly. This weekend I created my new High Definition Distraction-inator!

 

[JustinsGr8]

Here is mine...
Bolts from broken down motors.

 

[bulletpruf]

Must be...I kinda felt the same when I started doing business there, so I know what you mean, but my love for quality abrasives (Metabo & Norton) kept me going there...after a couple times, we strike up a conversation, they figure out I'm a serious hobbyist and voila...Cash account setup, prices come down and they are super friendly. Now they are my first stop shopping for all things industrial.
Good way to start would be shop the monthly sales flyer...usually good pricing on those items.

Same here - Fastenal was crazy expensive until I spent some time chatting with one of the salesmen and he set me up with a cash account. Then it was crazy cheap.

For specialty or "if this breaks, I'm fooked" stuff for my race car, I usually buy from Aircraft Spruce. Aviation stuff. Very nice.

 

[sberry]

Not counting a specialty project but most fine and gr 8 will sit around. On occasion we use a fine and only rarely an 8 on specialty connection on bulldozer etc.

 

[n8n]

Anyone ever buy one of the assortment sets? I am tired of having to go bolt shopping every time I work on something. I'd like to get a good selection of nuts and bolts in the garage and then focus on keeping it stocked instead of buying bolts every few days for a project. Is it better to get an assortment prepackaged from a vendor or is it better to build your own assortment from a list of commonly used sizes and lengths? I'm currently rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire, so I need a bunch of fine thread SAE grade 8 bolts to get the Chassis back together. Most of the bigger kits come with a parts bin and run from $400 and up depending on quantities. Eventually I think it would be great to have standard and fine thread selections in both metric and SAE sizes, but that would be a few thousand dollars just in hardware. What do you guys do for bolts in your shop? Does anyone have a checklist of commonly used lengths and sizes they use to build their own assortment?

Tom

I do have the Dorman assortments for SAE and Metric, about $20 each at Advance (but you need three, SAE, European metric, and Japanese metric) but those are only really good for emergencies.

In your situation, can you do what I did years ago when putting together an old Studebaker? I sat down with the parts books and put together a spreadsheet of the fasteners needed for various jobs, and contacted a fellow club member who was a dealer in fasteners and just ordered what I needed to put the car together. It wasn't cheap, but I may have had one of the few Studebaker V-8s with a full stainless hardware kit

Now if Triumph didn't list fastener sizes in the parts books, that will make that project more difficult...

 

[Andybull]

Here are a few of mine;

 

[600SL]

I made my own bolt kit both SAE and metric. So far all course thread but may expand. I purchased each diameter in lengths from 3/4" to 4". For the less common ones I purchased 5 of each size for the more common ones I got 20 or so. All Grade 8 or 10.9

I got everything from Bolt Depot. They sell bolts individually or by the box. Cost ~ $700 for all of it with washers and nuts. I store it all in Durham parts boxes for the moment.

It was a painful buy the first time but not difficult to maintain once you have it.

 

[Rickster55]

Here are a few of mine;

Nice but I prefer your chinrest in your avatar!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have an 70 compartment bolt bin for the normal stuff and then the Hillman assortment for the special stuff. All gotten from an Ace Hardware that was moving and closing their existing store...Rich

 

[Spareparts]

Before retiring I bought all the hardware and working on aerial type of equiptment we had to have a Certificate of Insurance on file for the nuts and bolts all Grade 8. Lawson and Midwest Kimball were pricy at about $11.00 and $9.50 a pound respectively. We bought most of the bolts and nuts from the local Case dealer that carried Rockwell hardware for around $3.00 a pound and had no problem get the certs. Both Lawson and Kimbell furnished the cabinets and spending anywhere from $1500.00 to $2500.00 a month they were some very expensive cabinets.

 

[nosnerd]

TSC by the pound when it goes on sale at 15 or 20 off...manager told me its 3 times a year

 

[themiller]

Bolts, washers, screws, nuts - started about 15 years ago getting a box even if I only need one or two. I also keep old fasteners, washer, screws in which are in good shape and frequently use those on anything that isn't going to kill me (or someone else) if it breaks.

Now I very rarely have to go to the store for any hardware. I must have 70ish boxes of hardware and I use bins from a closed hardware store to keep them all sorted. Same goes for drywall anchors, nails, picture hanging supplies, etc. Hardest part is keeping it organized...

I have probably spent $70 * $4 box = $280 and 4 trips a year * 15 years * 1/2 gal gas/trip * $3/gal = $90 = $370 before my time is taken into account, or any other incidentals, like the stops for food "on the way"...

If I had to do it all over again - I would get an assortment.

 

[Mike Miller]

To me it's worth it to have an assortment on hand, otherwise it's a 16 mile round trip to town to get what I need in a truck that gets piss poor fuel mileage.

 

[-Brent-]

I'm glad this got bumped up.

In the nearly seven years I've lived here I have acquired a bunch of hardware. I bought some from an estate sale, I've bought extras (in bulk), and I've bought some at tag sales even. As well, I've pulled some stuff from vintage machines/furniture/vehicles. Not a lot but it's stuff that got used for projects of similar age.

One thing I dislike is using a shiny new piece on an old item. Making it look old doesn't do the trick, either. So, I have two small bin/drawers with vintage nuts, bolts, washer, and screws.

Since my space is limited, I try not to keep oddball stuff. I'll pass that onto someone whom does like having it handy. I just finished sorting out a bunch of little boxes of hardware I bought at an estate sale a while back and there were two boxes of flat-head screws that weren't machine thread and didn't look like wood screws. Plus, they're galvanized. I knew I'd never used them. So, I kept them in the box and I'll give them away to someone that can find a use.

 

[bulletpruf]

Bumping this to the top to see if anyone has any more thoughts on purchasing large assortments of nuts and bolts.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

The Triumph is a Mk4 and belong to my father in law. I bagged and tagged everything, but I'm a fan of changing all bolts for new instead of cleaning up the old. Just a little extra security. At this point I am looking at just buying a parts bin set up that mounts to the wall and starting as many of you have suggested. Buying in bulk in the common sizes I will need.

Tom

IDK if that car is SAE or not, but here's a link to a Brit supplier:

http://www.britishfasteners.com/?gclid=CIPwucKIkMACFScV7AodbyoA3Q

Tommy

 

[marinusdees]

FYI The ultimate in bolt strength (grade 5 grade 8 etc) is Caterpillar head bolts. Obviously only available in some sizes. If you break one please post on GJ.

 

[Ray-CA]

I'd give these guys a call (http://www.mcmaster.com) and see if they have an assortment that meets your needs.

Ray

 

[mike91lx]

well worth it in my opinion. Bought a ton from a closing sears hardware and its so nice no to constantly have to run to the closest hardware store every time you need a couple nuts/bolts

 

[DangerousDan55]

Beautiful guys! I came very close on winning some bolt bins on different auctions. Then my son gave me a box he wasn't using, so I use it for my bolt bin & hose collection. Went to Jiffy Lube & they let me have all the empty oil containers I wanted. Cut them to height of the drawers.
Before I throw out anything, try to remove all the screws, bolts, brackets, wheels, electric cords, ect.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I'll ditto a lot of the items above.. I've built my "collection" of hardware / fasteners over the years, auctions, family, projects, trips to the hardware store, etc. I have amassed them in a variety of useful cabinets that have grown as the diversity of this selection has grown.. A few examples in the pictures..

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I went to an auction at Barron Lake, Michigan in the late 80's when a hardware store closed down and scored two large boxes of wood screws (steel and brass) and lag screws..

The packaged assortments are good to start, but the journey to a hardware store in your home (if that's your desire) will take some time to build..

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

well worth it in my opinion. Bought a ton from a closing sears hardware and its so nice no to constantly have to run to the closest hardware store every time you need a couple nuts/bolts

Curious...what'd that run you? $$, $$$, $$$$??

 

[j-guenth]

Try McMaster- Carr

They have just about everything you would need.

 

[Richard Cranium]

And I will second that question....Rich